Skip to content

The surname Hurley

An Irish surname, carried by 39,796 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈhɝli/ 2 syllables Soundex H640

Hurley: #870 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Hurley #870, 39,796 people Hurley: #870 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Hurley #870, 39,796 people
Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Hurley is more common than 99.5% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

From Old English hyrne (“corner”) + lēah (“woodland clearing”).

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 39,796 people named Hurley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 7,758 Americans. That is up 2.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 38,971.

#870
rank among US surnames
39,796
people in 2010
13
per 100,000 Americans
+2.1%
change since 2000 (was #808)
RankSurnamePeople1 in
#861Small40,2127,678
#862Bentley40,1937,682
#863Felix40,1657,687
#864Peck40,0557,708
#865Lucero39,9867,721
#866Boyle39,9217,734
#867Hanna39,8907,740

Who is named Hurley

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

91% of people named Hurley identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.6% as Black (not Hispanic) and 1.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

  • White (not Hispanic) 91%
  • Black (not Hispanic) 4.6%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.9%
  • Two or more races 1.5%
  • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Hurleys

13 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

  • Chad Hurley
    American businessman, co-founder of YouTube, born 1977
  • Douglas G. Hurley
    American astronaut, born 1966
  • David Hurley
    Australian general; 27th Governor-General of Australia, born 1953
  • Andy Hurley
    American drummer, born 1980
  • Marcus Hurley
    American racing cyclist (1883–1941)
  • Frank Hurley
    Australian photographer and adventurer (1885–1962)
  • Courtney Hurley
    American fencer, born 1990
  • Kelley Hurley
    American épée fencer, born 1988
  • Bobby Hurley
    American basketball player and coach, born 1971
  • Michael Hurley
    American folk singer-songwriter, cartoonist and painter, 1941–2025
  • Kameron Hurley
    American writer, born 1980
  • Daniel Hurley
    Australian bishop, born 1940

Notable Hurleys come mostly from the United States (9) and Australia (4).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Hurley

Hurley has the Soundex code H640, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H640.

Other Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Hurley come from?
From Old English hyrne (“corner”) + lēah (“woodland clearing”).
How common is the surname Hurley?
39,796 people in the United States had the surname Hurley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,758 Americans. It ranked 870th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Hurley?
In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Hurley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.6% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Hurley?
Chad Hurley, American businessman, co-founder of YouTube, followed by Douglas G. Hurley.
Where is the surname Hurley most common?
Wikidata records people named Hurley in the United States and Australia.
How do you pronounce Hurley?
Hurley is /ˈhɝli/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Hurley getting more or less common?
More common. 38,971 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 39,796 in 2010, up 2.1%.